The Sound of Science – ‘Does Earth Have Two Moons?’

Jasmine: Hi, I’m Jasmine.

Chrissy: I’m Chrissy.

Jasmine: We’re from NIU STEAM and…

Chrissy: You’re listening to The Sound of Science on WNIJ. A moon is any natural satellite that orbits around a planet or other space objects that cannot be considered stars. Moons are referred to as natural satellites because they aren’t artificially created and were not placed into orbit; rather, they orbit their parent celestial body due to gravitational interactions.

Jasmine: We are taught from a young age, that the Earth has one natural satellte – the Moon. In Latin it is referred to as Luna, but for all intents and purposes, that’s just a more scientific way to categorize it. For a brief period, there will be an exception to this one-moon truth.

Chrissy: In August, ATLAS, or the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, discovered an asteroid originating from the Arjuna belt moving in an orbit aligning closely to that of Earth. The asteroid entered an orbital pattern, like that of our Moon, on Septemnber 29th.

Jasmine: Scientists have named this mini-moon 2024PT5 and it isn’t much bigger than a bus you might find on the Huskie Line. Some believe that it originally was a piece of our Moon that had broken off in its infancy. 2024PT5 is not visible to amateur sky watchers, whether you are using the naked-eye or a telescope, but astronomers are currently studying it as an artifact of debris from within Earth’s adjacent space neighborhood to learn more about our portion of the solar system.

Chrissy: Though this may seem like an extraordinary event, NASA says that the gravitational forces of Earth and the Moon capture these space objects several times a decade. We will bid adieu to our new space companion around November 25th, when it will continue its heliocentric orbit around the Sun and rejoin the Arjuna belt.

Jasmine: You have been listening to The Sound of Science on WNIJ, where you learn something new every day.

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